World Traveler

I'd like to think of myself as a world traveler. Insert gratuitous travel photos below...

Bathing my elephant in Chiang Mai.

White Sands Beach in Kona, Hawaii

I wish we traveled more, but alas have grown-up people jobs with limited vacation time.

In the meantime I will sit in my office drinking out of this new mug I purchased this weekend!

Buy It Here

 

Do You Spell Potato With An E?

Growing up we ate potatoes at every meal. I mean every meal. My family is Irish and really like their potatoes.  


I also grew-up in Indiana. Home to Dan Quayle who regularly misspells potato .... but I digress. 


After I moved out I don't think I ate another potato until I discovered sweet potato fries. Still somewhat in the potato family. 


A few weeks ago I was stumbled upon this recipe and decided to give it a try. 


These potatoes are delicious! I thought some crumbled bacon would have made the taters more tasty, but would probably disqualify the recipe as "light." 

Recipe from Cooking Light 

Prep: 4 minutes; Cook: 10 minutes

Prep Time: 4 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 potato, 1 cup bean mixture, 1 tablespoon cheese, and 1 tablespoon cilantro)

Ingredients

• 4  (6-ounce) baking potatoes
• Cooking spray
• 1/2  cup  chopped onion
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/2  teaspoon  chili powder
• 1  (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans (such as Eden Organic), rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2  cups  frozen whole-kernel corn
• 1 1/2  cups  fresh salsa
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) reduced-fat shredded cheddar-Jack cheese (such as Cabot)
• 1/4  cup  chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

1. Pierce potatoes with a fork; arrange in a circle on paper towels in microwave oven. Microwave at HIGH 10 minutes, turning and rearranging potatoes after 5 minutes.

2. While potatoes cook, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and next 3 ingredients; sauté 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add beans, corn, and salsa; cook 4 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

3. Split potatoes lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, other side. Fluff with a fork. Spoon about 1 cup bean mixture over each potato. Top each serving evenly with cheese and cilantro.

The Perfect Flat

I found her....

... and she will be on my foot in 2 business days. Thanks Endless!

Writing It Down

At any moment my desk looks like it exploded with buck slips and post-it notes. I would show you, but then I would be exposing confidential information. ;)

I am always looking for cute organizers, note pads, etc. I tend to be more organized when I have something cute to write on. I found this the other day...

Via Esty

Love, love, LOVE IT! 

Newest Etsy Find

I have always loved elephants. After our visit to Thailand where we were able to work on an elephant farm, I have become even more enamored with these creatures.That's me with an 18 month old elephant. He was so gentle yet playful. I LOVED him.

Recently I spotted this charm necklace on Etsy, and I snapped it up! The charm is quite heavy (the description did warn me), so I think I will only bring her out from time to time!

Love, love, love!

This weekend my oldest friend in the world came in town to visit me. This year we are celebrating BIG birthdays.... the dreaded 30!

Jaime and I met in the 2nd Grade when I was new to St. Mary's Catholic School. We bonded immediately over our love of colored pens, talking during classes when we should not have been, and whatever else little six year-old girls bond over. Our second grade teacher was AWFUL, but the best thing that came out of second grade was a 23+ year friendship - and my cursive handwriting skillz.

We headed down to Disneyland for a magical days of fun!!  Is there a better way to celebrate your 30th birthday??? I think not!

We visited Pixie Hallow because Jaime LOVES Tink!

Hime customized some stylish ears.

Of course we spent plenty of time in Fantasyland because that is our FAVORITE land of all!

Riding Dumbo of course!

Then Jaime kissed Mr. Toad.

I had such a blast this weekend! We laughed so hard all weekend. We also reminensed about being friends for over 23 + years which is pretty amazing since we haven't lived in the same state for over 14 of those years! I am so lucky to have such an amazing friend is Jaime. I can't wait to see what we are like when we are 60!

Another Girl Named Kyle

Last night the world viewers watching Bravo's Real Housewives of Beverly Hills were introduced to another girl Kyle.

Kyle Richards aka former child star aka Paris Hilton's Aunt aka Beverly Hills socialite.

I am a sucker for mindless TV on Thursday nights as a way to unwind from my stressful week. Cue my DVR flipping the channel to Bravo so I can get my weekly fix of catty girl fights. Meow... I haven't been getting enough of it lately at work, so I need these ladies!

Will you be watching RHOBH?

To Decorator or To Not Decorate

When I first entered the workforce people tried to give lots of advice. Some I took, some I did not.

In my first job I met Nikki, whose brash tell it like it is attitude scared me to death. Of course I always took her advice for fear of my life or job. Nikki told me never decorate your office. "The people who spend too much time decorating their office spend too little time actually doing work." I have found this theory to be surprisingly true.
I took that piece of advice and never looked back.... until now. In my current job, everyone walks by my office, and notes that I need to decorate it. I guess an empty soda can laying next to the wastecan and notes about upcoming release dates posted to the wall don't count, humm.

I mean I have been here 4.5 years with no plans to leave, so I think it is safe to maybe add some decoration.

This made me laugh-out-loud. It sums up what goes through my head on a daily basis. Inappropriate for the office... maybe ... needed ASAP on my wall... yes!

You Can Buy It Here

You Will Now Be Rerouted to .... Cambodia

This post is LONG overdue, but oh well.

About two weeks before we were to depart for Thailand, protests were breaking out in the streets of Bangkok. At first the protests didn't seem like they would affect our vacation, but unfortunately they became more violent as the days went on.

Less than a week before we were to leave, we made the decision to pull the Bangkok and River Kwai portion of our trip. It was recommended we go to Cambodia. Needless to say, I was not particularly happy or excited about this new leg of our trip.

Never in my life did I think I would go to Cambodia. Never once considered it. Now after visiting Cambodia, I want to go back for so many reasons.

It's been two months since we first arrived in Cambodia, and I can't stop thinking about the experience.
I could never understand when someone told me that they have visited someplace the shook them to the core. I always felt like this was a bit of an overstatement, but now I completely understand this feeling.

Below are just a few of the MANY pictures from our trip.

I'm Rockin'

I am currently obessed with this Eames® Molded Plastic Rocker. I think this chair could be a fun desk chair if the desk/table was low enough.

The chair now comes in several colors on the DWR website. I love the java color, but I have a slight obsession with brown and I need to stop buying so many dark pieces!

I like the funky lime yellow - though I would probably grow tired of this quickly.

Classic white is always nice.

And the red orange is bright and fun!

Happiness Is...

This is not much better than coming home to this face (the fuzzy one) after a long day's work! 

It's been a crazy few months with work and travel, but no matter what, this sweet face is happy to see me. I love her so much! 

Favorite Things Friday

I've been in a very all or nothing mood lately. I tend to get that way sometimes. Good or bad, that is who I am. 

Lately I have been obsessed with running. I am three weekends out until my half-marathon, and I am a running fool! Right now I am running 5 days a week. I run 3-5 miles during the week, then do 1 long run on the weekend. This weekend it was 11.5 miles. 

I am still amazed how I have trained my body to run. Back in January I could only run a half-mile without stopping, and the longest "run" I would do is 3 miles. That "run" consisted of a bit of running with a lot of walking. 

Then one day I decided I was no longer going to stop running once my legs started to hurt. After that, the miles started to become easier, and I started to actually like running. Around this time, I started to crave running. I know, crave running? I never thought that would happen. Now I look forward to my runs. I hope as I continue to run, my love does not waiver in favor of something new. 

On another topic,  Miss Crispin's Crispian can't get enough of her bob-a-lot. This toy is AMAZING and every dog should have one!

City living means no backyard (insert sad face here). While she does have a really large deck to play on, Crispin needs something to keep her from being a monster in the house.  You just put some yummy treats in the toy, and then your dog just knocks around the toy to get the treats out. Crispin LOVES it. I usually put her food in it because it keeps her busy longer - giving me more time to Twitter or read blogs. 

Starbucks Deliciousness

After I dropped the pup off at doggy-daycare today,  I swung by Starbucks for a little bit of caffeine.  On the board they were advertising a dark cherry mocha latte. I LOVE cherries and dark chocolate, so I decided to give it a try!

Um....... YUM! I am telling myself right now that I WILL NOT be going back tomorrow or the next day for another. Must practice self-control.

A tall, non-fat dark cherry mocha latte is only 200 calories and 1.5 g of fat.  I know it is not healthy, but it is a reasonable little splurge on a day that you need a little pick-me-up.

Has anyone else tried it? Don't you love the seasonal latte collections?!!!?!! I DO!

Happy Birthday Crispin's Crispian

A year ago today, my baby girl was born. Yes my baby girl is of the fuzzy variety, but I love her more than I could have ever imagined I'd love a dog!

This is the first picture I ever received of her. I took one look at her, and I knew she was mine!

She has added so much fun and love to our lives! Personally I think she is the cutest thing in the whole-wide-world, but I'll let you judge for yourself! Obviously this was a year of firsts for the pup, but she has done quite a lot in these 12 months!

First time her daddy held her. She LOVES him!

First car ride! Rode from Northern California to Los Angeles and slept most of the way!

Favorite chew toy she quickly destroyed!

1st Fourth of July Celebration!

Practicing her doggy yoga she does everytime she gets out of her crate.

First trip to Carmel, CA.

First trip to Colorado where she was extremely interested in the stream near my parents house.

First playdate with her best friend Bella!

First beer. Just joking! We were only posing her - honestly!

First USC tailgate!

First Halloween. She was a lion, and Dylan was supposed to be a scarecrow.

First Christmas. You can she from here that she really does NOT love to be dressed up!

First ski trip!

I love you Crispin's Crispian! And just like your namesake, you are truly a dog who belongs to herself.

The main character of Mister Dog is a dog who belonged to himself named, Crispin's Crispian. This was my favorite book growning up, and someday I will read this book to my kids, and they will have their own Crispin's Crispian.

Travel Tuesday - Pantagonia, Chile

I LOVE to travel. I am always updating my list of where I want to travel. We didn't even finish booking our Thailand trip before I started sending Dylan links to where I want to go next. I know I should live in the moment more and look foward to my vacation that is only weeks away - BUT - I love to dream of travel!

One place I am dying to go to Pantagonia, Chile. There are so many beautiful resorts, but I would love to stay at Pantagonia Camp in Torres Del Paine. The pictures look amazing and all from the Pantagonia Camp website!

You stay in yurts which are dome tents. The whole resort is a luxury "camp" that was constructed to respect the natural enviroment around it. The focus of the resort is on nature and sustainability.

When you step outside your yurt, you are surround by nature. This place is beyond words!!!

And there is so much to do in Pantagonia - hike, kayak, fish, horseback riding, rafting, swimming, etc. Argh... did I mention I really want to go? I will leave you with one last picture of Pantagonia....